By Iddi Yire, GNA
Accra, Aug 11, GNA – The Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building has welcomed the decision by President John Dramani Mahama to carry out a shakeup of the National Security Council Secretariat.
A statement issued by Mr Adib Saani, the Executive Director, Jatikay Centre for Human Security and Peace Building, said the Centre had taken note of the reorganisation of the National Security Council Secretariat, including the appointment of Major General William Ayamdo (rtd) as Deputy National Security Coordinator responsible for Operations and other appointments to key departments of the Secretariat.
“We congratulate the appointees and wish them well in their respective assignments,” the statement said.
The statement said further that, “The restructuring presents an important opportunity to strengthen intelligence coordination, operational effectiveness, accountability and the preventive orientation of Ghana’s national security architecture.”
It noted that the Centre believes that one of the most urgent priorities for the new leadership must be the growing threat of violent extremism and possible terrorist spillover from the Sahel into Ghana.
The statement said developments in Burkina Faso and the wider Sahel require sustained intelligence gathering, stronger border surveillance, regional intelligence cooperation and. importantly, greater investment in the resilience of vulnerable communities in northern Ghana.
It added that equally important were chieftaincy, land and communal disputes, which continue to constitute significant internal security risks.
It said Ghana had hundreds of unresolved chieftaincy, land and ethnic disputes, with scores classified as high-risk conflicts capable of destabilising communities,
It reiterated that the new leadership must also give greater attention to organised crime, illicit financial flows, money laundering, illegal gold trading and cross-border criminal networks.
It said these activities might appear primarily economical, but they had significant implications for national security because their proceeds could sustain corruption, organised criminal groups and other destabilising activities.
The statement said the reorganisation of the National Security Council Secretariat should ultimately be judged not merely by changes in personnel, but by improvements in anticipating threats before they escalate, disrupting organised criminal networks, strengthening intelligence coordination and protecting citizens while respecting the rule of law and human rights.
The Jatikay Centre expressed its readiness to contribute its research, expertise and civil-society perspectives towards strengthening Ghana’s human and national security.
GNA
Edited by Benjamin Mensah